5 Ways to Spot a Cyber Scam

Here are 5 ways that you can clearly identify an online or cyber scam.

1) A Message from a Retailer/Supplier

Scammers often send out emails pretending to be from well-known and trusted retailers. With a trained eye these can be spotted a mile away. Things to look out for are:

The unrecognised email address it is sent from (in the message above this is visable as "info@1und1.de"

A warning from your email provider that the message is spam

The fact you may not have ever shopped there

We advise that you get in touch with your supplier/retailer to check from them if the message/call you received was in fact from them.

2) A Text Message from an Unrecognised Number

Scammers are now targeting smart phone users and are sending out bogus messages straight to their phones. If you receive one of these messages never click a link as it could lead to malware that will infect your device with the intention of using your personal details.

3) Seems too Good to be True...

You guessed it. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Offers like the three above feature heavily in scammers texts/emails and should be ignored.

Much like the first point, scammers often send these "too good to be true..." emails to people from what appears on the surface to be well known brands. So use the tips in the first point to spot them out.

4) Spe11ing M1st4kez

Fraudsters are up against increasingly sophisticated spam filters that prevent them from getting to your inbox. To get around this, they will often use numbers instead of letters and seemingly random spelling mistakes to sneak under the radar. Spotting these patterns will help you identify the scammers that get through.

Also worth noting here that your bank will never ask you for your account details online. So if you get an email supposedly from your bank asking for your details, you can be 100% sure it is a fraudster.

5) Warning from your Email Provider

This one may seem obvious but, as mentioned above, most major email providers have a highly sophisticated spam filter that should divert the vast majority of scam emails from your inbox. If you see a message from your service provider warning that the message may be spam, avoid it.

Thanks for taking the time to read our 5 tips on how to spot an online scam.